The American Kill Line: I Can Predict the Future

on Monday.

A loud shattering sound suddenly came from the office of the IMG vice president.

Michael Dolan stared at the New York Times on the table, his face grim and unpleasant.

Since Chairman and CEO Ted Forsterman was diagnosed with late-stage brain cancer, the former CFO has been appointed as IMG's next Chairman and CEO.

Unexpectedly, this scandal has emerged just this month after he was promoted to vice president and took over company affairs.

The New York Times front-page story directly named sprinter Asafa Powell for long-term drug use, sex trafficking, and sexual harassment of models, and included testimonies from several retired models.

This statement was published on major online media and social media platforms in less than an hour.

It quickly swept across the entire internet, becoming a hot topic in late June.

Also this morning, the IRS, citing an anonymous tip, accused Asafa Powell of tax evasion and took him away from his villa.

When he was taken away, a young male model from IMG was still lying on his bed.

As for how Michael knew it was a male model, it's because someone took a picture and posted it online.

What's even more troublesome is that just now, the brand sponsors and sponsors who had previously agreed to the deal called to cancel their cooperation.

This directly caused IMG to lose tens of millions of dollars.

Michael's first suspicion was about PACE, the agency that Asafa was about to terminate his contract with.

The brokerage firm suddenly announced yesterday afternoon that it would not renew the contract because it was dissatisfied with Asafa's actions.

The timing was perfect.

It was announced yesterday, and Asafa was taken away today.

Nobody would believe it wasn't the other person.

Just then, the assistant hurriedly pushed open the door.

Michael was about to reprimand when he heard the other person say urgently:

"Mr. Dolan, David, David has also been taken away by the IRS, and the FBI is here too."

"David?" Michael was taken aback.

The assistant explained, "It's the marketing manager who liaised with Asafa."

Michael slammed his hand on the table in anger: "Damn it, what does PACE want? Are they planning to declare war on IMG?!"

Do you think PACE has the capability?

An elderly man, well past sixty, appeared at the office door in a wheelchair.

Michael immediately composed himself and stepped forward to greet him respectfully: "Mr. Forsterman!"

The visitor was none other than Ted Forsterman, who was suffering from brain cancer.

As the medical staff wheeled him into the office, Ted looked at his chosen successor and partner, his stern gaze softening:

"Michael, I've told you before, the bigger the problem, the calmer you need to be."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Forsterman," Michael said, bowing.

"Alright, this isn't the time for this." Ted cleared his throat. "So, why do you think it'll be PACE?"

Michael quickly relayed the information he had gathered.

Ted shook his head slightly: "It's passable, but not enough. At least PACE can't command the IRS."

Michael was slightly taken aback, then became even more puzzled.

Ted didn't explain, but instead looked at the assistant: "Did you personally witness David being taken away by the IRS and FBI? What were the charges?"

The assistant glanced at Michael and then said, "Suspected of...suspected of tax evasion, concealing illicit income, and fraud."

Ted sneered, "Did you hear that, Michael?"

Michael looked serious; he knew this was definitely not just a simple contest over artists.

It was a conspiracy, a conspiracy against IMG.

Ted then asked, "Tell me, what outrageous things has this David done recently? I don't believe it's such a coincidence; at least a minor department manager couldn't cause IMG any significant damage."

Based on Ted's decades of business experience, he keenly sensed that this was likely a classic case of "a small person ruining a big deal."

If the other party was really targeting IMG, they wouldn't have chosen such an insignificant player.

"Something outrageous..." The assistant racked his brains for a while, then his eyes suddenly lit up: "Could it be that model's congressman uncle?"

"Go on."

The assistant didn't actually know much about the matter; it was just something that was being discussed in the company that day.

So he recounted what he had heard.

To prove his point, he even called Kate's agent.

Wendy was already terrified by then.

From the exposure of the Asafa scandal to witnessing David being taken away, she was terrified.

Upon meeting the company's two big bosses, she threw dirty water on David without a second thought.

He kept insisting that he was coerced.

"A congressman?"

Ted first waved his hand dismissively, shooing the woman away.

The situation was more serious than he had imagined; he hadn't expected it to involve a congressman as well.

But he always felt there was something wrong with it.

Well, if it really was just a congressman taking action, there's no need to go through all this media hype.

You can just use your connections to take them away.

For a politician, nothing is off-limits for negotiation.

It's simply a matter of price.

This tactic now felt very familiar to him, just like what those scavenging lawyers in New York did. Only they would use such results-oriented, ruthless methods.

After much deliberation, Ted decided to consult his private lawyer first.

After hearing what had happened, the other party affirmed without hesitation, "You guessed right, this isn't a politician's tactic. I can even smell the stench. Give me five minutes."

It didn't even take five minutes, not even two.

The private lawyer called back, his voice grave.

"Mr. Forsterman, I think we need to prepare for battle. Because the wolf is coming, not your opponent, but the real wolf, the newly born wolf king of Wall Street."

……

Ron finally had another round of fun.

On the 19th, China announced its currency reform, and Australia immediately responded.

On the 21st, the Australian dollar opened with a surge.

Ron capitalized on the opportunity to make over $2 million, bringing his personal wealth back to $8 million.

dong dong dong-

"Come in."

Thomas, the assistant, pushed open the door and entered: "Mr. Hunter, the law firm of Bowes just called, saying that IMG's lawyers would like to see you."

Ron didn't have time to pay attention and replied without even looking up:

Tell them you're busy.

Ron might consider it if the dying CEO called.

He's just a private lawyer; he's not qualified to speak on behalf of the other party.

Besides, he's just fired the first shot; now he's waiting to see who his true friends are.

If it ends so early, wasn't the whole show a waste?

Among the shareholders of Fund 1, including Philip, there are now four old money investors.

Musk also used his connections.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be so easy for a few old money holders to take down a sports star with hundreds of millions in endorsements in one go.

However, some short-sighted shareholders sold their shares at a premium.

But it doesn't matter.

He planned to hand over Fund 1 to Victor to manage in the future.

Ron is preparing to open his second private equity fund.

This fund is much larger, so its shareholders are very important.

You could even say that these shareholders are his allies.

A net worth of 20.02 per month is enough to attract friendly offers from Wall Street investment banks.

Even Silicon Valley VCs sent him investment proposals.

One of them, Airbnb, is a pretty good online vacation rental company.

Sequoia Capital invested $60 in its seed round last year.

It is said that the first round of financing will be launched in November.

There's another social media platform called Instagram, which hasn't even launched yet, but it completed a $30 seed round in March of this year.

Another one is Twitter.

This is currently the most popular social service platform besides Facebook.

The number of registered users exceeded 70 million in January this year.

Valued at $30 billion, with expected funding of $1 million.

These three investments have been "validated" among these numerous projects.

If possible, Ron would definitely vote all of them.

Speaking of this "verification", Ron thought of Tesla again.

So he dialed Musk's number:

"Hey Elon, are you free tonight? Sure, I'll definitely be there."

Musk is quite adept at handling things; he offered help without even asking.

Ron hoped he would be more sensible.

If your brother helps you make cash, it's not unreasonable for you to sell me some shares, right?